Sin City Senior Standouts (Part 2)
We were in beautiful Las Vegas this past week, and if there wasn’t a big tournament in my backyard of Richmond, VA I would probably still be there. The Mecca of AAU basketball the last live period of the year…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWe were in beautiful Las Vegas this past week, and if there wasn’t a big tournament in my backyard of Richmond, VA I would probably still be there. The Mecca of AAU basketball the last live period of the year is always in Las Vegas, and we have been lucky enough to attend the past few years. We still have some Prep Hoops guys out there, but I wanted to share about 30 or so guys I saw while attending Under Armor Finals, the Las Vegas Fab 48 and the Bigfoot Hoops “The 8.”
Here’s a look at part two of the rising senior standouts I saw in Las Vegas.
Seth Pinkney | 6’9” PF | K-Low Elite 17U (PA)
Much like Lindo who I mentioned earlier, Pinkney will also be taking a prep year and physically looks like a much different kid than I saw last year on K-Low. He’s still a little thin but nowhere near as bad as last year as he’s put on some muscle which is allowing him to make plays in the paint now. He’s super long and bouncy at 6’9” so he’s a high level rim protector and he can finish so much stuff others simply can’t. He had one put back over about 3 guys who tried to box him out, and that may have been the best highlight I saw while there. He still has a ways to go but he’s a project with a high ceiling.
Cole Anthony | 6’2” PG | PSA Cardinals 17U (NY)
The consensus number one point guard in the country put on a show as usual when his Cardinals team took the court this week. There’s some things you simply can’t teach, the kid either has it or doesn’t, and Anthony has that “it” factor about him. He’s tough and competitive, he’s athletic and crafty, he’s explosive and strong. He has a great grasp of the game, knowing that he can make plays for himself or others whenever he needs to. He’s improved his jumper, he locks up defensively and he simply can’t be contained off the bounce. Whoever is lucky enough to land him is going to get a very special player.
Andre Gordon | 6’0” PG | C2K Elite 17U (OH)
Gordon was one of the smaller guards that I liked this week, but it’s hard to dislike a kid like him when you see him go flying to catch alley-oops then sit down and pick up the ball handler the length of the court. He has a blur of a first step, he can stop on a dime to create space and he has great hang time that allows him to change his body mid air which allows him to finish in traffic. He has some dog in him and he’s very productive on both ends of the floor.
Jeremiah Davenport | 6’5” G | C2K Elite 17U (OH)
While Gordon was the best player in their game I watched, Davenport is likely the better prospect with his size at the guard position. He can play on and off the basketball, as he served as a secondary ball handler against the press and did a good job. He can make shots from deep off the catch and is a strong finisher inside. A kid I would like to see more of moving forward to know exactly what level he could play at.
Scottie Lewis | 6’6” WF | Team Rio 17U (NJ)
There aren’t many kids that I’ve seen throughout the country that are more gifted athletically than Lewis. He has the perfect frame with long arms and he’s likely going to fill out when he hits the college weight room. He’s freakishly explosive both off the vert and when he gets a full head of steam, and some of the finishes he had were as show stopping as they come. He can lead the break and create his own shot out of isolation situations, but where he’s going to make his money one day is on the defensive end. He’s a big time competitor that takes pride defensively, he’s an athletic rim protector and he moves his feet well, he communicates and he gets deflections and turnovers regularly.
Bryan Antoine | 6’5” WG | Team Rio 17U (NJ)
While he isn’t the athlete that Lewis is (like I said, aren’t many that are), Antoine showed that he’s arguably the best shot maker on this Rio team. He gets hot quickly, and once he does he’s able to score the basketball from anywhere on the floor. He gets great elevation on his shot allowing him to shoot over defenders, he has a good middle game with the pull-up and floaters and he can finish at and above the rim when he gets downhill. He’s a special scorer that doesn’t need much space and will hit the shots you yell at everyone else for taking.
Alex Rice | 6’4” WG | We R 1 17U (PA)
Rice was lights out when I saw We R 1 take down West Coast Elite. I mean I’ve seen We R 1 this year but this is the first time I left talking about Rice. At 6’4” he doesn’t have bad size to play the two, and while he isn’t as explosive or as versatile as some of the other guys on his team but he’s probably their best shooter. He worked tirelessly to get open, he shot it with confidence and had great footwork on the catch that had minimal motion to get into his shot.
Idan Tretout | 6’4” WG | New Heights 17U (NY)
Tretout isn’t the biggest need shooter on his team with Lester Quinnones, but that doesn’t diminish his ability to make shots though. At 6’4” he has decent size, but he’s shifty off the bounce and gets to his spot in limited dribbles where he’ll knock it down. He has a killer pump fake and can attack closeouts, and when he gets open it’s almost surely a make. He moves well side-to-side and he’s a strong finisher in traffic as well.